


Child's Play

by Stephicness



Series: Ardyn and Tabby [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Headcanon, Parent-Child Relationship, Prequel, Tumblr Prompt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-14
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 12:00:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,575
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9322655
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stephicness/pseuds/Stephicness
Summary: A day's outing and a mess of pancakes, Ardyn found himself playing babysitter for the day as he spends some time with his newly met little friend.





	

For a man with a need for vengeance and the total annihilation of the Lucii, Ardyn’s remarkably good with kids. Perhaps one can compare his aloof personality to a kid, but he nevertheless is able to deal with them unlike others. He’s a terrible father, and a terrible man, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have a soft spot for children. Innocent children not yet corrupt or tainted by the cruel world around them. It was a small light in a world of darkness and despair.

So when he ultimately befriended a small, familiar-looking child while out on his travels, it was only natural that he was rather playful with her. No use in him sitting about reading his newspaper every day and having her stare him down with that ball of fur she carried around all the time. He’d actually have to do _something_ with her.

And so, their play date began. A walk around the city with the little girl by his side as they observed all of the strange sights. They stopped at food stalls of all kinds, trying a little bit of everything, pilfering whatever sweets they could (and Ardyn having to pay for it because the little girl was far too loud and gave them away). It was a pleasant time, until Ardyn turned to the girl and noticed that not even food could keep her entertained.

Such a hard one to please…

Ardyn thought to himself, tapping the dry part of his lollipop on his chin in thought before he suddenly pushed the little girl a bit, getting her to stagger slightly and look up at him with the closest look a child could give to say ‘What the fuck?’

“Tag. You are it.” Ardyn quickly turned and began to powerwalk away before the girl could process what had just happened. And when he heard tiny footsteps approaching him, Ardyn bolted.

Their game of tag continued for most of the evening, a game of cat and mouse while the child chased him to tag him and Ardyn hid in overly conspicuous places and playing it off as if he tried so hard to find a hiding spot behind a streetlamp (because trust me, if he wanted to hide, he would know how to hide). She would ‘sneak’ up behind him, tug on his long trenchcoat before she’s run away and hide as well. Too bad most of where she hid was always revealed, for a large orange cat butt would usually be peeking out as well. The game was a silly one. But with how much physical activity Ardyn got in those few hours, it definitely showed that he was almost two-thousand years out of shape.

The two finally came to a draw, deciding that maybe an endless game of tag wouldn’t work out too well. And so, in order to make a peace treaty, the little girl took Ardyn’s hand and went ‘There. Now we can keep tagging each other!’ Ardyn did her one better by putting her onto his shoulders with the cat in his hood before he walked the child back home.

Lights were out in the little apartment, much to Ardyn’s surprise. Was the mother not home? Perhaps it was for the better, considering an awkward’s nice fling resulted in the curly little red-head existing in the world. Not to mention that Ardyn wasn’t particularly around, so there would surely be some tension there. But nevertheless, with the lights up, he set the little girl down and looked about the silent apartment. And with the way the child flopped the cat down into its pet bed and began to run to the kitchen to grab a watering can from under the sink, Ardyn couldn’t help but observe.

This was a normal routine for her.

“Mama works at night and doesn’t come home until late. But I don’t think she’d mind if I have a friend over.” The little girl watered the flowers as Ardyn wandered around the living room to observe everything. But she was quick to return, trying to climb up on the counters as she dug through the cupboards for something to make. “We should have pancakes…! The pictures can show us how to make it, right?”

Ardyn quickly went over, grabbing the little girl and taking her off the counter. He held her out as if she was a cat herself, hands underneath her armpits as he held her out and stared her in the eye. A little girl raising herself essentially… He let out a sigh, setting her back down onto her feet before he hung his coat up onto the chair and rolled up his sleeves. “Shall I help you make them?”

And so the messy pancake concocting began, with batter and ingredients getting rather out of hand. Despite the man living for so many years, he rarely had the opportunity to cook. It was a newfound experience trying to cook after so long of just buying food or, you know, just not eating. The cooking was messy and perhaps not as professional as he hoped, but it was fun nevertheless. At least, until the little girl decided it was a funny idea to toss some flour up to make it snow, only to have it land in Ardyn’s face and hair. 

This meant war. 

He was quick to retaliate, scooping some batter up with his two fingers before he streaks it down from her forehead to her chin. Some managed to get into her nose, but not even that causality would stop her from making a counterstrike! She scoop up some batter, trying to get Ardyn with it, only to miss his face and wipe chocolate chip pancake batter right down Ardyn’s hair and shirt. Oops. Ardyn’s eyes narrowed before he set the whisk down and scooped the little girl up, giving no mercy as he rubbed his floury and stubbly face all over hers to tickle her, all while securing her in a bearhug that kept her from escaping. It wasn’t until she was in tears from laughter that he finally released her and sent her to the bathroom to wash up and take a bath.

Eventually, the pancakes were finally done. Edible too, but not for long. If Ardyn ate anymore than a single pancake, he would most likely have his teeth rot from all of the sugar. Instead, he merely watched and observed as the little girl devoured at least four to herself. The appetite of a daemon… Ardyn shrugged to himself as he drank his coffee while trying to wipe the flour from his face and hair. At least she ate. Children need to eat in order to grow and be healthy enough to suffer in the world just like any other adult. Let her have her time, he thought. For mortality can be gone in the blink of a eye. So he merely listened as she explained her wild tales of cat hunting and chasing after imaginary creatures. Her favorite is talking about a giant cat with spots she one time saw outside of the city. Cute imagination of hers, and always about cats…

It wasn’t until midnight finally came around that the little girl became more alert and began to clean things up before scurrying to bed. She tugged on Ardyn’s hand, begging for him to tuck her in, much to Ardyn’s amusement. He never really tucked in anyone before. But with the small puppy look she gave him, it was hard to say no. So after wrestling with her to remain underneath the blankets, he got up again, dropped her cat, Squishy, onto her lap and began to leave the room.

“Are you going to come visit again sometime…?” Ardyn turned around as the little girl stared back at him. An odd question to ask suddenly, but the saddened look on the child’s face was enough to soften Ardyn’s gaze. “You’re really nice, and fun, and I want you to visit alot! Maybe you can come live with me and Mama too!”

Ardyn’s expression became more solemn. Such wishes he wasn’t able to fulfill. But with an expression like that… Ardyn could at least compromise. He returns back to the little girl’s bedside, kneeling down as he looks her with a warm gaze, one that made me feel almost two thousand years younger. “I promise to visit when I can. If I can’t, I’ll be sure to send you letters from where I travel to.”

“With little gifts too?”

Ardyn nodded. “And I will make sure they have cute little cats on them too. Little orange ones like Squishy, just for you.” He reached out, patting the girl’s head as he smiled at her. “You just get some rest, alright? I promise to return when I can…”

The little girl gave a small nod. And just when Ardyn was about to leave again, she sat up, throwing her arms around the red-haired man and hugging him tight. “Be sure to write lots for me, okay?” 

“Of course, little one.” He kisses her forehead before tucking her back in. He rose to his feet and proceeded to the door once again, stopping as he heard a tiny mumble come from the head as the child began to drift to sleep.

“Good night, daddy…”

Ardyn paused, looking over his shoulder at her before he smiled and turned off the nights. “Good night, little one.”

**Author's Note:**

> The subject of a father-daughter outing came up as well as tickles, so I wrote about it while starting to get into deeper bonding between Ardyn and Tabby. The first prompt established the story of what happened to the little girl in the end, but the prompts that I usually write take place within the year Ardyn stays in the city with the little girl. So here's the second writing I did for the series, so I hope you enjoy!


End file.
